Hamtaro: Ham-Hams Unite!

"Shockingly Enjoyable..."

If you haven't heard of Hamtaro consider yourself lucky. Hamtaro is a very kiddy cartoon about hamsters who have formed a club after Hamtaro and his pal Oxnard found out about the Bosses home. Why they made the club isn't my care or problem but since this is about hamtaro i wanted to give you a brief background.

Story:4/10
Hamtaro arrives in the clubhouse to find the Boss in need of help. He needs you to find the Ham Hams and bring them back to the clubhouse. Theres just one catch, all the hamsters have started there own language called Hamchat. Now everything has a strange word to it, like hello is Ham-Ha. The boss then gives you a second task to master this language while on your travels. He teaches you some basic words, gives you a notebook to remember the words you'll hear, and sets you off towards the Acorn Shrine to begin your quest.

Oh if you wondered why Boss cannot do this, well hes too busy 'working', even though he just stands there in front of a door the whole game he is 'working'. I don't know about you but that has to be the most rushed storyline concept ever. Go find your missing friends and learn a language while i sit here and pretend to work. Lazy pets...

Gameplay:10/10
One reason I really liked this game was due to the feature of the search aspect where there is no death and lives to worry about. Hamtaro will trip on rocks, get knocked over by moles and even smash his neck on cement after falling 100 feet. Its quite funny to see the little hamster and his little blunders every 5 to 10 seconds. It really makes the game enjoyable as you search the little worlds of a Hamster.

Also through the ways of trial and error will you get certain hamsters to tag along, or learn new Hamchat words. Which also means you'll have to backtrack alot to attain words that you need to say in old levels. (As you do though you'll pick up alot of Seeds which in Hamtaro is the currency of the game.) Its not much of a chore compared to a fun puzzle to solve.

Sound:9.7/10
There really isn't that much to say about the music. Most tracks in the game don't sound alike but are so well done to fit the stages that it really does turn into background music that doesn't distract you in a positive or negative way. The only music that really does stand out is the Credits theme which is really a hoot in my opinion to listen to as your credits fly by.

Graphics:8.1/10
It looks ripped out of a cartoon and thats the way this game should look. The hamsters all have different experessions from the famous anime sweatdrop to the dazed swirly look. Even the talk images change to but not as much as the actual hamster graphic.

The one problem with the graphics is most likely positioning a hamster for a dig. In the Sky Garden its very confusing to figure out where to dig into the drain pipe. While standing on the opening lets nothing happen, standing on the lid lets you dig.

Controls:8/10
I'd like to say very responsive and great for the system. In truth though there are flaws. Only sometimes Hamtaro will move the way you want it to when your moving space by space. Although there is no Death and Game Over this really isn't much of a concern as theres no punishment for the imperfect move.

Sound Effects:6/10
I want to put a one word answer right here. Startling, yes the sound effects are startling especially when you trip over a rock and hear the whistle like sound. Most are calm, but theres a few ones you'll remember for awhile that just startle you no matter how many times you here it.

Extras:9.2/10
Once you find every Ham ham, there are plenty of extras to keep you company. You could track down all 85 Hamchat words, collect all the annoying dance beats, collect the 12 stars, open the Mystery Vault or buy all the clothing from the HM Boutique.

The dance beats is basically Hamtaro dancing to the songs he buys or finds during his adventure. You can also create your own but its seemingly pointless and just annoying.

The clothing from HM Boutique are things you can buy to dress-up Hamtaro in different wacky outfits. Once you find a nifty Hamster outift (*Sarcasm*) you can take a groovy picture of yourself in that dumb looking outfit. Its a neat little feature that gets old real fast though, as there are a million of these shops and most outfits are pretty lame.

Mini-Games:8/10
Finally we have the Mini games. Well technically there are only 2 full business games that cost you seeds to play. Theres a very dull and random luck based dig game that lets you have 3 tries to find the prizes. Most of the prizes are a Seed or two, though under there is a rare star and a bag of 30 seeds for you.

The other game which is more like a real mini-game, meaning its a devils chore is Tack-Q Bowling. In English that translates into Tackle Bowling, which it is. You have 3 chances to tackle these balls into balloons. Red ones give you less points than blue, but of course blue are hard to it. If you manage to get a high score you could get well, some very cruddy prizes. =)

Replay Value:Little
Difficulty:Normal
Time:8-10 Hours
CLOSING
Once you beat Hamtaro, its well over basically. You could go through and collect the final stars or rocks but collecting the music and clothes is more of a chore than fun. Even replaying the whole game doesn't offer much that is new. A megaman game could be beat in different ways, mario and zelda too. But being orginal doesn't always mean you'll find a game to play a thousand times. Still while it lasts its a great game.

Gameplay:10/10
Story:4/10
Sound:9.7/10
Graphics:8.1/10
Controls:8/10
Sound Effects:6/10
Extras:9.2/10
Mini-Games:8/10
OVERALL:7.8 (due to gamefaqs system lets call it a 8)

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/19/03, Updated 02/19/03